It is the 1930s, and a long and bloody civil war has divided the nation as two powerful families battle for the crown. The end of the war comes suddenly when the reigning King and his heir are killed by the Commander-in-Chief of the York faction, Richard of Gloucester. Richard’s elder brother, Edward, takes the throne, establishing a shaky peace over the nation. But Richard, shunning the dreary calm of peacetime, turns his attention to a new, private war within the House of York. Brother to a sickly King and Lord Protector to a vulnerable young heir, he sets in motion a murderous plot to divide his family, eliminate his rivals and usurp the throne.

A striking adaptation of Richard III – transferring the action to an imagined war-wracked Europe of the 1930s and transforming Shakespeare’s most notorious villain into a fascistic despot.This special cinema event features a new 10 minute documentary, the feature film and a live 30 minute discussion with Sir Ian McKellen and Director Richard Loncraine broadcast live from the BFI Southbank.